sotrami producer profile short

7/27/2019 SOTRAMI Producer Profile Short

1/4

SOTRAMI MINING ORGANISATION, PERU

1 Bury, 2004, Livelihoods in Transition: Transnational Gold Mining Operations and Local Change in Cajamarca, Peru, in, The GeographicalJournal, vol. 170, no. 1, pp. 78-91

Fairtrade is going to help us to sell our gold at the right price, so we will be better paid. It will also help theenvironment and our community.

Gina Davila, SOTRAMI Womens Group

IN BRIEF

BACKGROUNDThe mining organisation Sociedad de Trabajadores Mineros S.A. (SOTRAMI) was established in 1989 byinformal artisanal miners working in an abandoned mine in the Atacama Desert, Central Peru.

SOTRAMIs miners work in a hard-rock mine which tunnels into the side of a mountain 2,000m above sealevel. There are 13 horizontal levels below the entrance with narrower vertical tunnels with ladders betweenthem. Miners need to be physically fit to enter the mine and get to the deeper levels. Miners use dynamiteto blast out an area of rock which they then dig further with hand or pneumaticdrill for ore. The ore is thenplaced into sacks which are loaded into a small cart which is winched by hand to the surface. The ore issorted, ground down and mixed with cyanide or mercury to extract the gold. Air is pumped from the surfaceto the deeper levels of the mine to ensure miners can work safely. There is an electricity supply in the mineand a phone system for communication from the different levels to the surface. The work, as well asentering and leaving the mine, is physically demanding.

Artisanal and small-scale mining attracts an economically weak and vulnerable rural and urban workforcesuch as the miners at SOTRAMI. The miners and their families live in the nearby village of Santa Filomena,which was established by small-scale agriculturalists, unemployed and landless people displaced byviolence in other regions of Peru, who took to informal mining. This shows how ASM is opportunity drivenas it is an important alternative to less attractive or less profitable activities, and a chance to improvepeoples economic situation.

The area mined by SOTRAMI was owned and operated by an American mining company. In the 1970s theprice of gold dropped and the Peruvian government nationalised mining to end increasing control of

Peruvian natural resources by foreign investors. This meant the American company left the area which wasthen informally mined by the miners who established SOTRAMI so that they could attain a miningconcession (legal right to mine). They were the first ASM company in Peru. SOTRAMI is now owned by theworkers and has its own ore processing plant. There are 88 shareholder workers in two groups and anadditional 30 self-employed miners working in the mine plus the womens group and five engineers whomanage the mine and processing plant.

PERUVIAN GOLD ECONOMY BACKGROUNDPeru is a leading exporter of expensive mineral resources including copper, gold, silver and oil but 53% of

Established: February 1989Fairtrade certified: TBC 2011Fairtrade and Fairmined sales: TBCTotal workforce: 300Type of mine: hard rock tunnel mineMining activity dependents: 500 familiesPopulation of Santa Filomena: 2,000 peopleTotal area: 1,000 hectares Fairtrade Foundation


2/4

2

World Bank, 2008, Peru at a Glance,http://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/per_aag.pdf(20-06-09)3

BBC News, 2009, Country Profile: Peru, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1224656.stm (20-06-09)4

McMahon, G. et al, 1999,An Environmental Study of Artisanal, Small and Medium Mining in Bolivia, Chile and Peru, World BankTechnical Paper 4295

Echavarria, C., 2007, Project Engage: Getting to Fair Trade Gold and Jewellery,https://diamonds.net/fairtrade/Docs/FT_JCK_ARM_getting_to_FT_gold.pdf(31-05-09)6 World Bank, 2008, Peru at a Glance,http://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/per_aag.pdf(20-06-09)7 MBendi, 2008, Gold Mining in Peru, http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/gold/sa/pe/p0005.htm (20-06-09)8 Bury, 2004, Livelihoods in Transition: Transnational Gold Mining Operations and Local Change in Cajamarca, Peru, in, TheGeographical Journal, vol. 170, no. 1, pp. 78-91

Peruvians, including many ASM miners, live below the poverty line as a result of corruption and failure ofthe government to remedy social and economic inequality. Political power struggles have caused aneglected economy and infrastructure, and minimal foreign investment. In the 1980s, the economic crisis inPeru saw large-scale migration from rural to urban areas. There has been recent economic growth but therural poor have seen little improvement.

3The average Peruvian ASM miner earns $US3,000 annually, well

above most other unskilled jobs4, however wages differ from mine to mine and are subject to interpretation

by middlemen and traders who exploit miners5. Although higher, this is still well below the annual Peruviannational minimum wage of $US4,000 annually.

Peruvian exports in 2007 totalled $US33bn which accounts for 30% of Perus GDP6. Gold is an important

export in Peru and in 2003 accounted for 23% of the nations total exports of which 17% is extracted byASM miners7, which shows the huge socio-economic potential of ASM in the nation. Transnational miningoperations are the largest and most influential land-owners in Peru and bring change in regions plagued byhigh rates of poverty and unemployment8. Decreased land rights of ASM miners combined with pooraccess to credit adds to the immediate need for the capital that miners require, which leads them to usingenvironmentally harmful and dangerous techniques to earn money quickly.

SOTRAMIS PARTNERSHIP WITH FAIRTRADE AND FAIRMINED

As a result of economic crisis in Peru during the 1980s many peoplemigrated to gold mining areas like the Atacama Desert in search of work.

After the formation of the company SOTRAMI the group began workingtowards the elimination of child labour and working towards international

labour standards, which today form the basis of the Fairtrade andFarimined standard for gold. Victor Juan Hurtado Padella (pictured), 67,Deputy Mayor of Santa Filomena, explained, until conditions were madesafer the women and children were unable to live with the miners. We have learnt that children should notwork but should be in school.

SOTRAMI secured funding from a Spanish NGO to install an electric winch system which carries ore insmall carts on a track to the surface from the mine which, Victor explained, has reduced injuries for minersas they were no longer carrying heavy ore. Miners working in the area live in the community of SantaFilomena and have recently moved their homes from on top of the mine entrance away from the mine site,which is much safer for not only adults in the community but also children who stray into dangerous workareas. At first our houses were made from rocks and plastic, but now we live in houses made of wood, wealso now have a pre-school and health centre. As there was no one to help us when someone was injured

or sick we all had to help one another.(Victor Juan Hurtado Padella, June 2010)

The miners work in shifts and get paid at the end of each month, but as Victor explained before Fairtrademiners had to borrow money to pay their bills and buy food until they were paid.

The community, through democratic organisation not just between the miners but the wider community, hashelped to resolve some social challenges. For example, a police cell has been built and alcohol can nowonly be purchased at weekends to limit consumption.

Environmental impact

The Atacama Desert suffers high daytime temperatures and receives little rainfall in an area with elevationsabove 2,000m which makes the supply of clean safe water unreliable. SOTRMAI now have permission to

use a spring which is drying up to supply the community and processing plant. SOTRAMI used to exchangepartially processed ore containing small amounts of gold for water, however this is no longer commonpractice. Sometimes the water supply, which is delivered in weekly rations in barrels, is not always purifiedproperly causing sickness. Victor explained thatminers used to carry five gallon barrels of water forcooking but there was not enough to wash in. They had to leave when the water ran out, but since then aroad as been built and we now have buses which transport water to us.

SOTRAMI use chemicals (mercury and cyanide) to process the gold they mine as they cannot use water

Photo Fairtrade Foundation
http://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/per_aag.pdfhttp://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/per_aag.pdfhttp://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/per_aag.pdfhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1224656.stmhttps://diamonds.net/fairtrade/Docs/FT_JCK_ARM_getting_to_FT_gold.pdfhttp://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/per_aag.pdfhttp://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/per_aag.pdfhttp://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/per_aag.pdfhttp://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/gold/sa/pe/p0005.htmhttp://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/gold/sa/pe/p0005.htmhttp://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/per_aag.pdfhttps://diamonds.net/fairtrade/Docs/FT_JCK_ARM_getting_to_FT_gold.pdfhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1224656.stmhttp://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/per_aag.pdf


3/4

and gravimetrical methods (where water is mixed with crushed ore and gravity used to separate the goldfrom the rock) to extract pure gold from ore. SOTRAMI have also built their own processing plant whichmeans they can now more efficiently process ore for higher quality gold and better prices. The miners pay touse the processing plant but by organising into groups as Fairtrade and Fairmined requires, they are able tocombine their ore for processing and spread the cost. This also means that the mercury and cyanide is onlyused by workers who are trained in using those dangerous chemicals.

Mining operations can pollute and deplete water sources if not properly managed in agreement with theirlocal community. Chemical usage can have an impact on quality of water used by others includingagriculturalists. SOTRAMI must ensure drainage of effluents from processing areas must not be disposed of

into water bodies, tailings (sands or mud left over from processing) must be contained in impermeableponds, and neutralised to remove toxic substances. Safety provisions to prevent leaks and the safedisposal of fuel residues and containers are also necessary and they must meet national environmental lawsto sell under Fairtrade and Fairmined terms.

The environmental impacts of ASM depend on where it occurs, but can include deforestation, landdegradation through air, water and soil pollution from dust, mud or toxic substances, as well as impact onlocal wildlife. SOTRAMI has demonstrated that their activity can reduce these impacts with the propersupport and incentives. Their activity is not significantly dirtier per unit of output than other mining activity,and as they process much less ore than large-scale mining per ounce of gold, the magnitude of its impacton the land is much smaller. The use of pollution control technology with good environmental managementhas brought significant improvements. Fairtrade and Fairmined environmental requirements are designed tomanage, reduce and mitigate the use of toxic substances, to control emissions of dust to air, and mud

effluents into water systems, and to ensure proper water management, enhance ecological restorationpractices, including protection of biodiversity, whilst taking into account their human and capital resources inthe short and longer term. The Fairtrade premium can be invested in this area to implement cleanerprocessing technologies and to improve the environment for the miners, their families and communities, aswell as for local wildlife.

Fairtrade and Fairmined recognises that it is not always possible to produce gold without the use ofchemicals due to geology and a lack of water resources, like at SOTRAMI. The poorest miners depend onmercury as this allows them to process ore to gold in a day and earn money from it quickly in smallvolumes. Victor explained, we had to sell our gold as soon as it left the mine to pay bills but that way wewere at risk of being swindled and not processing the ore safely.Cyanide is used in areas where watersupplies are limited but larger volumes are produced by mining organisations (groups of individuals) andprocessed over a longer time. SOTRAMIs miners receive regular health check-ups and training on how to

use these chemicals in a safe way and have established an internal safety committee to manage this.Mercury can be recycled, which reduces costs. To continue selling their gold as Fairtrade and FairminedSOTRAMI in the coming years must work towards chemical-free processing or as near to it as they can.Where this is not possible Fairtrade and Fairmined aims not to exclude the most marginalised and poorestminers, who could use their Fairtrade premium to invest in environmental improvements.

Womens groupAlthough no women work inside the mine, they work on the surfacesorting ore containing gold for processing. Gina Davila (pictured) aged 29,is married to a miner and has two children aged four and five. She moved toSanta Filomena as her relatives lived there. Gina is a mineral sorter, whichmeans she sorts the ore by selecting pieces which contain gold with a toolcalled a manito(little hand), which is sold to the mining company

SOTRAMI, who then process it to release the gold and sell it on with theirtotal gold volume. 180 women work in shifts and at the end of each monththey share income made between them to raise additional money for theirhouseholds. The women are all members of the Pallaqueras(mineralsorters) WomensAssociation which was established in 2003 in response tothe need to arrange shift work which allows women and single mothers towork in a safe and organised way. They are organised into two collectinggroups who work from 2pm to 6pm daily, which is a time that fits aroundchildcare demands and their domestic responsibilities.

Through Fairtrade and Fairmined Gina has met other women who mine in South America and receivedtraining on health and safety in the workplace. This networkprovides support and has inspired the women to establish a crche so

that childcare can be shared and women can work without taking theirchildren to the mine site. Gina explained, it was very awkward taking ourchildren to work and it was very bad for the children, breathing in all that dust.

Photo Fairtrade Foundation (2010)


4/4

SOTRAMI produce the largest volume of gold of all the mining organisations Fairtrade and Fairmined areworking with and it is expected that their gold will be sold in Fairtrade and Fairmined certified gold productsacross the UK from spring 2011.

FAIRTRADE PREMIUM PROJECTSThe mining organisations who Fairtrade and Fairmined are working with have already began benefitingfrom just entering into the Fairtrade and Fairmined system particularly in the areas of health and safety anddemocratic organisation. As Victor explained, there have been so many changes since we have organisedourselves into a company. However with the global launch of Fairtrade and Fairmined gold products inearly 2011 they will begin to trade their gold and receive a Fairtrade minimum price and Fairtrade premium

for their gold, which can be invested in cleaner technology, improving working conditions, health and safety(including chemical usage), child-care facilities or to develop community projects in education, health,ecological restoration and economic diversification.

The Fairtrade premium and minimum price will enable mining organisations to obtain a fair price for theirgold. Specific challenges which the miners could use the Fairtrade premium to tackle: improved access topublic services, improving technology and working conditions by expanding their mineral processing serviceand in the long term export gold themselves. Victor explained, before we used to mine the gold and sell it toan intermediary who paid for it, then he sold it to someone else and so on until it was exported. But nowsince the arrival of Fairtrade to support us, we already have better prices and people cannot cheat on us soeasily.

The community in Santa Filomena has established a pre-school for 140 local children, which means not

only do children have access to education but also have somewhere safe to be looked after while theirparents are working. With Fairtrade premium the teachers could hire someone to maintain the building andsecure a reliable water supply for the children. As the number of children attending is increasing moreteachers also need to be recruited. Gina from the womens group really likes having the pre-school butexplained, Im not totally happy with the state of the crche. Id like more things such as someonespecialised in childcare so we do not have to look after the children ourselves. When I got married I hopedto give my children a better life, education and the opportunity to go to university the pre-school andcrche opens up these chances to my children.

Gina hopes that Fairtrade premium will be used to arrange workshops for women to learn skills outside ofmining such as tailoring and to buy sewing machines to make better sacks for the ore. She also explained,weve had lots of improvements in our community but our great aim is to install electricity pylons.Ginabelieves, if we sell through Fairtrade well be able to receive the premium and this could be a great help for

the whole community.

Victor would like to use Fairtrade premium to re-connect the community to the internet so that they canmonitor the international gold prices and sell directly to customers as well as allowing children to study ICT.

Fair t rade Found at ion / Al l iance for Respon sib le Mining

January 2010

sotrami producer profile short

Documents